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Surrender, Impulses, And The Church

We all have impulses. And many of those impulses are not necessarily healthy.

Impulses to speak when silence is the better option.

Impulses to spend when saving is the wiser choice.

Impulses to sex when either abstinence or faithfulness is the path of life.

Impulses to selfishness when submission is the way of Jesus.

Impulses to seclusion when community is our deepest need.

So since we all have impulses, many of which are unhealthy, what do we do with them?

It all depends on where you place the word “to” in the next sentence:

Surrender to your impluses.

or

Surrender your impulses to . . . Jesus.

There are many voices in the church today advocating that the church encourage people to surrender to their impulses. These voice are particulary determined when it comes to the realm of human sexuality.

But I believe that’s a path and those are voices that ultimately lead to dissolution and disarray.

I know that would be the case were I to surrender to my impulses.

So by God’s grace I’m doing my best to move the “to” to the end of the sentence, and therefore surrender my unhealthy impulses to the Lordship of Jesus.

Wherever you are in your journey, how about we move the ‘to’ and do that surrender together?

You can find many of these thoughts in chapter six of my book Crash Test Dummies, published by Abingdon Press. You can order your copy for either person or group study here.